A scene from the SBS drama “Reactivation of Agent Kim”/Captured from SBS
It is significant that the entire film was produced using only Korean-developed technology.
The SBS drama “Agent Kim Revitalization” showed a large-scale action scene created using artificial intelligence, demonstrating the ambition to open a new chapter for Korean dramas through the active introduction of AI technology.
“Investigator Kim Reboot,” currently airing on SBS, aired a 3-minute scene depicting the past of the main character, Director Kim, played by So Ji Sub. This scene was created entirely with AI, making it a rare example of a Korean drama using a single AI-generated sequence to tell such a wide range of stories.
This sequence was created using AICRON, an AI platform developed by Korean visual effects (VFX) experts. The drama is set in North Korea and follows Manager Kim as he carries out a special mission, and he appeared in the first and second episodes of the drama.
The AI-generated footage includes large-scale action scenes such as exploding buildings, high-speed car chases through snow-covered roads and tunnels, vehicle rollovers and collisions, submergence and vehicle recovery efforts. It also depicts gunfights, hand-to-hand combat, and close-up shots of characters, addressing one of the key limitations of AI-generated video by maintaining a high level of character consistency throughout the sequence.
Scenes like this typically require large production budgets, including overseas locations, large-scale set construction, practical special effects, and extensive VFX work. The production team chose to use AI to efficiently portray Chief Kim’s backstory while reducing the need for costly live-action production.
Actor So Ji Sub (right), a scene from the SBS drama “Investigator Kim Reboot” / Provided by: SBS
At SBS’s Drama Media Day held earlier this year, Studio S CEO Hong Sung-chan talked about the company’s AI efforts.
“We are incorporating AI extensively into our future works,” Hong said. “Each time AI is used, viewers are informed through on-screen captions. Lower production costs are certainly one of the benefits, but more importantly, it’s about proving that it’s possible. Over time, viewers will come to appreciate AI even more.”
The AI was produced by Morpheus Studios under the supervision of Vice President Ryu Jae-hwan, a VFX supervisor whose credits include “Boston 1947,” “Swing Kids,” and “Influenza.”
From left, actors Choi Dae-hoon, So Ji-sub, and Yoon Kyung-ho pose at a press conference for the SBS Friday-Saturday drama “Reinvigoration of Investigator Kim” held at SBS headquarters in Seoul on June 25th.
“The biggest thing is that we’re not just replacing a few seconds of visual effects with AI,” says Ryu. “We used AI to complete the entire story sequence that is essential to the story. Manager Kim was conceived with a clear purpose to incorporate AI from the planning stage. This shows the potential of AI to become a new production tool that brings creators’ imaginations to reality.”
Morpheus Studio also highlighted that all the sequences were completed using AICRON, an indigenous AI platform.
The studio said, “It is significant that the entire film was produced using only Korean-developed technology.” “Based on this experience, we plan to continue to evolve AICRON into an AI platform that can be widely used in commercial content production.”
This article from Hankook Ilbo, a sister publication of The Korea Times, was translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.
